Injuries are starting to bite again at Gloucester
GLOUCESTER Rugby’s injury problems are beginning to mount up again. The good news for the Cherry & Whites is that club captain Willi Heinz is fit for the first time this season, but Tom Marshall, Franco Marais and Lewis Ludlow are facing extended spells on the sidelines.
They are still awaiting the results of Ben Vellacott’s scan after he injured his knee in the Premiership Rugby Cup game against Bristol, while Ben Morgan is back with the club to have treatment on the shoulder he injured on England duty.
Gloucester could also be short at fly-half for Friday’s Pool Three game against Northampton at Kingsholm with Lloyd Evans still out and Danny Cipriani suspended, with a late call set to be made on Owen Williams after he had to go off at Ashton Gate.
Utility back Marshall, who only recently returned from injury, faces three months out after having an operation on his hamstring, while South African hooker Marais is expected to be out ten to 12 weeks after having a shoulder operation.
Both players picked up the injuries in Gloucester’s Champions Cup defeat at Munster last month.
“They’ll be out for quite a while, both of them,” said Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann.
“We probably won’t see those guys until the new year. It wasn’t a good day for us on that front and hopefully we won’t get a lot in the near future.”
Flanker Ludlow would have been due to return from a four-week ban this weekend, but Ackermann revealed that he will be out for another eight weeks.
“He picked up a wrist injury in the Wasps game, but never really took note of it and it kept aching and sore,” said Ackermann. “When we trained last week he got another bang on it and it got worse and they scanned it and unfortunately there’s a fracture. The last few weeks weren’t good for us, but that’s part and parcel of the game we’re in.”
Scrum-half Heinz has not played yet this season due to a calf problem but is due to return against Saints.
“He’s put in a lot of work to get where he is, so let’s hope and pray this is the return we’re hoping for,” said Ackermann. “We don’t want to add pressure on him, we want him to enjoy his rugby now.
“He’s always been involved, he’s always been positive, he’s always been involved in our meetings, planning and stuff, and he’s engaged a lot and shared a lot of what he observed as captain and he’s still the leader. But for this coming weekend, we’ll manage him. Unless we can’t foresee it, he won’t play the full 80 minutes, so we just want him to go out with no pressure.
“The chance is still high that for this weekend somebody else will be captain, but it’s just good to have him back.”
The return of Heinz is a particular boost with Vellacott set for a spell on the sidelines, but Ackermann is hopeful that his injury will not be serious.
“It looks like it’s not too bad for Ben,” said Ackermann. “The good news is he’s walking on his own, he’s moving around and there’s no brace or crutches involved so that’s good. It doesn’t look too serious.”
Williams went off with a stinger after a heavy collision with Charles Piutau against Bristol, but could be fit to play this Friday.
Jaco Kriel, meanwhile, got through his Gloucester debut after 14 months out injured with no ill-effects, but did not train yesterday as he is suffering with flu.